Flash Floods Sweep Away Several Houses in Nepal’s Gorkha; Authorities Urge Residents to Evacuate after Flood Triggered by Landslide

A flash flood in the Budhi Gandaki River in Gorkha District of Nepal early this morning has damaged settlements, bridges and infrastructure in Chumnubri and Dharche rural municipalities.

The flood swept away several houses, two suspension footbridges and a motorable iron bridge, while inundating homes in several settlements and putting others at risk. 

A construction camp and some equipment belonging to a hydropower project were also swept away.

Preliminary reports suggest that a dry landslide in Chumnubri ​village in Gorkha district, about 100 km (62 miles) ​west of Kathmandu, blocked the Budhi Gandaki River, ⁠leading to downstream flooding.

The exact cause has yet to be established, and authorities are still collecting details of the damage.

Nepali authorities urged villagers to move to safer places, but there were no reports of any casualties.

Residents and tourists began fleeing to safer places after hearing loud sounds from the Ugyulung and Syar rivers from around 4.00 am. Locals said water levels continued to fluctuate.

Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, chief district officer of Gorkha, said authorities had received preliminary reports of a landslide above Sirdibas in Chumnubri. 

The Budhi Gandaki is ​a tributary of the Trishuli River, downstream from another ​tributary where a glacier collapse caused a catastrophic flood in August that killed 1,457 people, with thousands still missing.

"We have asked villagers living ​along the river banks downstream to evacuate and remain ​safe," said Dharmendra Kumar Mishra, the Gorkha district's most senior bureaucrat.

Mishra said ⁠several houses and two suspension bridges had been swept away, and a hydroelectric project was damaged by the flood.

National disaster authorities alerted people living along the river in ​the Gorkha, ​Tanahun, Chitwan, East ⁠Nawalparasi and West Nawalparasi districts about the flood.

"Please help ensure that people in at-risk ​areas are moved to safe locations in ​time ⁠and assist search and rescue operations as needed," the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said in a ⁠social media ​post.

Officials said army and police ​rescue personnel had reached the area and were also monitoring the situation ​from a helicopter.

Source: The Kathmandu Post | Reuters